Trial set for drugs found in car and apartment

Two people pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of possessing cocaine and ganja with intent to supply; they had their trial set for May 3.

The defendants, Canute Sebastian Nairne and Laura Marie Quinn, were stopped by police on the morning of Dec. 27, 2016, along the Esterley Tibbetts Highway. Officers searched the vehicle and found items that led to a search of Nairne’s West Bay apartment, where Quinn had been staying. She has since moved to a different location.

The two first appeared in court on Dec. 29, when Nairne was remanded in custody and Quinn was granted bail with conditions.

This week, Crown counsel Eleanor Fargin told Magistrate Valdis Foldats that Nairne’s fingerprints were found on objects containing ganja. Quinn’s fingerprints were not found on any of the objects. Ms. Fargin advised that the results of DNA testing had not yet been received.

Each defendant faces charges relating to cocaine and ganja found by police in both the car and the apartment. As previously reported, Nairne told officers Quinn had “nothing to do with it” and he was taking her to work. He also told officers his house had been broken into recently and he couldn’t find one of his car keys. Nairne reportedly said, “This looks like a setup.”

Both defendants are also charged with possession of criminal property – CI$5,261 and US$2,147 found in the car’s glove compartment. Both entered pleas of not guilty.

A case management hearing was set for March 23. The magistrate suggested that the DNA results might have been received by then.

Quinn, 30, was represented by attorney Dennis Brady, who asked for a variation of her bail conditions. He said reporting to the police station three times per week had been quite onerous because of her work hours. Ms. Fargin did not object to this condition being removed. Other bail conditions are still in effect, including a curfew.

Nairne, 36, was represented by attorney Guy Dilliway-Parry. For a set of charges involving Nairne only, he elected to be tried in Grand Court. Nairne is charged with conspiring to supply controlled drugs to others, as a result of data from a mobile phone. There were 10 counts, based on text messages with various people between June 2014 and the end of January 2015. For that matter, he will appear in Grand Court on Feb. 24.